The 400 Blows (1959)
November 21st, 2003 at 9:53 am (3 - Enjoyed it)
A great example of French New Wave cinema gone right, François Truffaut’s The 400 Blows [Les Quatre cents coups (1959)] is charming and touching. The story follows Antoine Doinel (flawlessly played by young Jean-Pierre Léaud) as he struggles to find his place in the restrictive society of 1950s Paris. Neither of Antoine’s parents (played by Claire Maurier and Albert Rémy) really wants the child leaving him lost and unsure of himself. Antoine struggles with how to conform to the structure of his school and tries escape by running away from home. When he is caught stealing a typewriter Antoine is sent to a home for juvenile delinquents making possible an incredibly beautiful scene where we barely see a tear come down the kid’s face as he peers out to the Paris night from behind the bars of a police paddy wagon.
It might be hard for a viewer accustomed to American commercial film making to think they would enjoy a movie as raw as those produced during the New Wave with it’s lack of constructed frames and enchanting editing. The 400 Blows, however, proves how effective real setting and raw emotion can be in engaging the viewer’s mind to the intent of the author. There is no attempt at deriving complacency from the audience, instead jarring cuts and long takes force the watcher to accept each scene simply for what it is.
Nick said,
November 22, 2003 at 12:53 pm
400 Blows is one of probably my top 10 favorite films of all time. Truffaut is really the only New Wave director that I like. He and Renoir are definitely my favorite two Frenchies. If you haven’t read Truffaut’s coversations with Hitchcock, you’re really missing out. They’re as fascinating a discussion of cinema as you’re ever likely to read.
Truffaut has a gift dealing with children in movies, too. Wild Child is a very good movie as well. I love movies about and starring children and Truffaut is as good as anyone ever at using them. Probably the most comparable director for his abilities using children as real actors is Shyamalan, imo.
I think this is the only French movie I own.
John Smith said,
June 28, 2004 at 6:05 am
The only one?
That’s sad.